6 ms·

The most sustainable way to "buy" music IMO, is to pirate it, and then buy merch from the artist as support. Or just buy off Bandcamp if its an option.

orblivion 2y ago
I Don't Have Spotify should add Bandcamp support. Bandcamp is great for just playing the music too.
- Syonyk 2y ago
  It's not. Artists will often enough remove old albums so you can no longer play them. Buy it, download as FLAC, put in your preferred local infrastructure to play. Plex/Plexamp works well, as does local file storage and a good command line music client if you're less GUI-friendly or don't have the resources for running them.
  - meeb 2y ago
    Downloading large collections can be a pain though, one at a time and in zips. I made this to help though https://github.com/meeb/bandcampsync https://github.com/meeb/bandcampsync Bandcamp is the only place to sensibly buy music you can own these days which is pretty depressing.
    - prmoustache 2y ago
      what about online music shops like bleep.com and 7digital?
      - hatsix 2y ago
        "Fun Fact", 7digital is owned by the same parent company as Bandcamp.
    - tempfile 2y ago
      I always wanted this, thank you!
  - orblivion 2y ago
    I also buy from Bandcamp.
  - devmunchies 2y ago
    Wait, all the music I bought on bandcamp can disappear if the artist removes it from their public inventory?
    - nsfmc 2y ago
      this has happened to me once, appropriately enough with some hauntology tracks. the songs are weirdly enough still available in the ios app to play but not to download via the web. presumably they're still somewhere in bandcamp behind a boolean, but i never got around to downloading them (to be fair, i have them on a _cassette_ that originally included bandcamp codes, so i mean, i really can't complain, i knew what i was getting into)
    - rendaw 2y ago
      This happened to me a bunch. I think in one case an artist released an album, but wanted to disallow buying individual tracks so they relisted it after I bought one track. The most infuriating thing is that bandcamp gaslights you on it. I eventually confirmed that yes, I had bought that song, after tracking down the receipt in my email provider or something (it was hidden from purchase history, bandcamp "I can't find my music" link didn't mention this, etc etc). This isn't just an issue for playing music though - if you buy a bunch of stuff but don't download it right away you could loose it too. I bought the track I mentioned right after it was released, and the substitution happened within a day or two of that. Like, I get it, if there was some legal issue (pirated work - and then they should issue refunds). But the fact that bandcamp tries to hide it just means that they know they have no moral grounds here.
    - hatsix 2y ago
      No, making an album private does not disappear the music from people who have purchased it. However, Bandcamp does abide by the laws that require them to stop distributing music at the rights holders' request. No music service, or any service, for that matter, will guarantee access to files without regard to laws. Some will try harder, some have tried harder and been beaten down.
  - amatecha 2y ago
    plex alternative: jellyfin + finamp or fintunes. This is my new setup (alongside bandcamp if I haven't yet imported the bandcamp purchase into my jellyfin library). No cloud shit, no subscriptions, but I still support [most of] my favorite artists. Ones which aren't on bandcamp, well either I still have the CDs kicking around or some mp3s from wherever (yt-dlp + ffmpeg is useful when lazy too)
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - Parae 2y ago
    Artists can also remove old albums from Spotify. At least with Bandcamp you can buy the music and download the files - if you want to. And you can even send a mail to the artist to ask them why they removed old albums and if they can provide you a copy.
    - rendaw 2y ago
      Artists can and do remove your access to purchased albums on Bandcamp, see my rant below.
  - dangravell 2y ago
    Yes, downloading is important as even download sites can redact later - e.g. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/70250-qobuz-may-be-removing-music-and-files-even-if-purchased/ https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/70250-qobuz-may-be-... Another source are good ol' CDs. If you know where to look you can get them cheap too. Specialist charity shops that specialise in records and CDs in student or wealthy areas are good, as are second hand stores online. An alternative to self hosting is to use an online music locker. I wrote up a bunch here: https://www.blisshq.com/music-library-management-blog/2021/01/06/cloud-music-lockers/ https://www.blisshq.com/music-library-management-blog/2021/0... and (disclaimer) operate one myself: https://asti.ga https://asti.ga
    - wyclif 2y ago
      Where's the best place to buy CDs online now?
      - wmeredith 2y ago
        Discogs is pretty great for buying CDs: https://www.discogs.com/ https://www.discogs.com/
  - MisterTea 2y ago
    > It's not. Artists will often enough remove old albums so you can no longer play them. That doesn't happen on other platforms? I had two albums of a band who's front man died and they disbanded. The albums were removed but I still have them in my collection. You cant find it on the site anymore but I can still download and play them.
eleveriven 2y ago
In a way it seems like it's a practical approach to supporting artists directly
bayareacommie 2y ago
[dead]
aziaziazi 2y ago
Donating is also an option as soon as you got enough mugs and tshirts. Not mentioning the tot bags.
NickC25 2y ago
Or going to their live shows if they happen to come to a venue near you. Or by buying vinyl at a local record store. Sadly, those are dying out, but you can find one or two good ones in any major city. In electronic, hip-hop, and a lot of music that has a lot of computer-assisted production, a lot of producers will also release sample packs or VST presets that they sell directly on their websites. While often in small amounts, $50 or less, it more often than not goes directly to the artist with very little middlemen involved. While not a huge stream of revenue I'd imagine, it probably does help smaller artists if they can count on an additional couple hundred bucks a month from people that truly appreiciate their craft and I'd bet that if I reached out to artist XYZ whose music is no longer available on major platforms and said "hey i have been to a few of your shows, bought all your sample packs, and I can't find your tracks anymore" the artist, if small enough, would probably oblige and send along a nice little folder of music.
- Minor49er 2y ago
  Record stores are thriving pretty much everywhere across the US. The ones that have been closing are the ones that only hold old stock and don't curate their inventories If you walk into a shop and all you see are old, worn out Barry Manilow and Bob Seger albums at $30+ a pop, the store isn't meant to last. Thankfully, the problem has been solving itself
- insane_dreamer 2y ago
  > Or by buying vinyl at a local record store. Sadly, those are dying out, they were dying out but are now coming back

orblivion 2y ago

I Don't Have Spotify should add Bandcamp support. Bandcamp is great for just playing the music too.

Syonyk 2y ago
It's not. Artists will often enough remove old albums so you can no longer play them. Buy it, download as FLAC, put in your preferred local infrastructure to play. Plex/Plexamp works well, as does local file storage and a good command line music client if you're less GUI-friendly or don't have the resources for running them.
- meeb 2y ago
  Downloading large collections can be a pain though, one at a time and in zips. I made this to help though https://github.com/meeb/bandcampsync https://github.com/meeb/bandcampsync Bandcamp is the only place to sensibly buy music you can own these days which is pretty depressing.
  - prmoustache 2y ago
    what about online music shops like bleep.com and 7digital?
    - hatsix 2y ago
      "Fun Fact", 7digital is owned by the same parent company as Bandcamp.
  - tempfile 2y ago
    I always wanted this, thank you!
- orblivion 2y ago
  I also buy from Bandcamp.
- devmunchies 2y ago
  Wait, all the music I bought on bandcamp can disappear if the artist removes it from their public inventory?
  - nsfmc 2y ago
    this has happened to me once, appropriately enough with some hauntology tracks. the songs are weirdly enough still available in the ios app to play but not to download via the web. presumably they're still somewhere in bandcamp behind a boolean, but i never got around to downloading them (to be fair, i have them on a _cassette_ that originally included bandcamp codes, so i mean, i really can't complain, i knew what i was getting into)
  - rendaw 2y ago
    This happened to me a bunch. I think in one case an artist released an album, but wanted to disallow buying individual tracks so they relisted it after I bought one track. The most infuriating thing is that bandcamp gaslights you on it. I eventually confirmed that yes, I had bought that song, after tracking down the receipt in my email provider or something (it was hidden from purchase history, bandcamp "I can't find my music" link didn't mention this, etc etc). This isn't just an issue for playing music though - if you buy a bunch of stuff but don't download it right away you could loose it too. I bought the track I mentioned right after it was released, and the substitution happened within a day or two of that. Like, I get it, if there was some legal issue (pirated work - and then they should issue refunds). But the fact that bandcamp tries to hide it just means that they know they have no moral grounds here.
  - hatsix 2y ago
    No, making an album private does not disappear the music from people who have purchased it. However, Bandcamp does abide by the laws that require them to stop distributing music at the rights holders' request. No music service, or any service, for that matter, will guarantee access to files without regard to laws. Some will try harder, some have tried harder and been beaten down.
- amatecha 2y ago
  plex alternative: jellyfin + finamp or fintunes. This is my new setup (alongside bandcamp if I haven't yet imported the bandcamp purchase into my jellyfin library). No cloud shit, no subscriptions, but I still support [most of] my favorite artists. Ones which aren't on bandcamp, well either I still have the CDs kicking around or some mp3s from wherever (yt-dlp + ffmpeg is useful when lazy too)
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Parae 2y ago
  Artists can also remove old albums from Spotify. At least with Bandcamp you can buy the music and download the files - if you want to. And you can even send a mail to the artist to ask them why they removed old albums and if they can provide you a copy.
  - rendaw 2y ago
    Artists can and do remove your access to purchased albums on Bandcamp, see my rant below.
- dangravell 2y ago
  Yes, downloading is important as even download sites can redact later - e.g. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/70250-qobuz-may-be-removing-music-and-files-even-if-purchased/ https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/70250-qobuz-may-be-... Another source are good ol' CDs. If you know where to look you can get them cheap too. Specialist charity shops that specialise in records and CDs in student or wealthy areas are good, as are second hand stores online. An alternative to self hosting is to use an online music locker. I wrote up a bunch here: https://www.blisshq.com/music-library-management-blog/2021/01/06/cloud-music-lockers/ https://www.blisshq.com/music-library-management-blog/2021/0... and (disclaimer) operate one myself: https://asti.ga https://asti.ga
  - wyclif 2y ago
    Where's the best place to buy CDs online now?
    - wmeredith 2y ago
      Discogs is pretty great for buying CDs: https://www.discogs.com/ https://www.discogs.com/
- MisterTea 2y ago
  > It's not. Artists will often enough remove old albums so you can no longer play them. That doesn't happen on other platforms? I had two albums of a band who's front man died and they disbanded. The albums were removed but I still have them in my collection. You cant find it on the site anymore but I can still download and play them.

eleveriven 2y ago

In a way it seems like it's a practical approach to supporting artists directly

bayareacommie 2y ago

[dead]

aziaziazi 2y ago

Donating is also an option as soon as you got enough mugs and tshirts. Not mentioning the tot bags.

NickC25 2y ago

Or going to their live shows if they happen to come to a venue near you. Or by buying vinyl at a local record store. Sadly, those are dying out, but you can find one or two good ones in any major city. In electronic, hip-hop, and a lot of music that has a lot of computer-assisted production, a lot of producers will also release sample packs or VST presets that they sell directly on their websites. While often in small amounts, $50 or less, it more often than not goes directly to the artist with very little middlemen involved. While not a huge stream of revenue I'd imagine, it probably does help smaller artists if they can count on an additional couple hundred bucks a month from people that truly appreiciate their craft and I'd bet that if I reached out to artist XYZ whose music is no longer available on major platforms and said "hey i have been to a few of your shows, bought all your sample packs, and I can't find your tracks anymore" the artist, if small enough, would probably oblige and send along a nice little folder of music.

Minor49er 2y ago
Record stores are thriving pretty much everywhere across the US. The ones that have been closing are the ones that only hold old stock and don't curate their inventories If you walk into a shop and all you see are old, worn out Barry Manilow and Bob Seger albums at $30+ a pop, the store isn't meant to last. Thankfully, the problem has been solving itself
insane_dreamer 2y ago
> Or by buying vinyl at a local record store. Sadly, those are dying out, they were dying out but are now coming back